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What Is a Hybrid Car Battery?

A hybrid car battery is like any other battery—except that it is rechargeable and has enough juice to move a large heavy vehicle down the road for a few feet or a few miles.

How Does It Work?

Like all batteries, hybrid batteries have two electrodes (which collect or emit an electric charge) that sit in an ion-rich solution called the electrolyte. (An ion, by the way, is an atom or group of atoms with an electrical charge.)

The electrodes are typically very close, so a polymer film, called a separator, prevents them from touching, which would create a short circuit. An on-off switch in whatever device is powered by the battery—your phone or laptop—bridges the cell’s electrodes to generate power. That’s when the electrochemical reaction begins.

Keep in mind: What we commonly call “a battery” is actually a battery pack that houses many individual cells. Your mobile phone battery is just one single cell, but anything larger—even a laptop battery—uses multiple cells working together.

Ionized elements in one electrode are in a chemical state where they are easily attracted to combine with other molecules, emitting electrons (energy) in the process. Those elements are tugged through the electrolyte and the separator toward the opposing electrode. The ions of the negative electrode (anode) give up electrons; the positive ions coming toward the anode accept them. The electrons released during this process travel through the external circuit (e.g. your phone), producing a flow of charge in the opposite direction to the flow of ions. During recharge, current is forced into the cell, reversing the process.

As we take a tour of hybrid batteries, remember one thing: Total energy determines the vehicle’s electric range, whereas available power determines its acceleration.

Today’s Hybrid Car Battery: Nickel Metal Hydride

Toyota Prius Hybrid Battery

The battery pack of the second generation Toyota Prius consists of 28 Panasonic prismatic nickel metal hydride modules—each containing six 1.2 volt cells—connected in series to produce a nominal voltage of 201.6 volts. The total number of cells is 168, compared with 228 cells packaged in 38 modules in the first generation Prius. The pack is positioned behind the back seat.

The weight of the complete battery pack is 53.3 kg. The discharge power capability of the Prius pack is about 20 kW at 50 percent state-of-charge. The power capability increases with higher temperatures and decreases at lower temperatures. The Prius has a computer that’s solely dedicated to keeping the Prius battery at the optimum temperature and optimum charge level. The Prius supplies conditioned air from the cabin as thermal management for cooling the batteries. The air is drawn by a 12-volt blower installed above the driver’s side rear tire well.

(Photos courtesy of the Automotive Career Development Center.)

Toyota Highlander Hybrid Battery

The nickel metal hydride battery used in Highlander Hybrid—and the Lexus RX 400h—is packaged in a newly developed metal battery casing. The 240 cells can deliver high voltage of 288 volts—but the motor-generators units can operate on variable voltage anywhere from 280 volts to 650 volts. The battery pack supplies 288 volts, but the boost converter, a part of the inverter above the transaxle, changes this to 500 volts. This battery pack provides 40 percent more power than the Prius battery, despite being 18 percent smaller.

Each of the modules has its own monitoring and cooling control system. The cooling performance reduces efficiency losses due to excessive heat, ensuring that the battery can supply required electric power to the motors at all times. The battery-monitoring unit manages discharge and recharging by the generator and motors to keep the charge level constant while the car is running. The battery pack is stowed under the rear seats.

Ford Escape Hybrid Battery

The Ford Escape Hybrid’s battery pack, made by Sanyo, consists of 250 individual nickel metal hydride cells. As with other hybrid battery packs, the cells are similar in shape to a size D flashlight battery. Each individual battery cell, contained in a stainless steel case, is 1.3 volts. The cells are welded and wrapped together in groups of five to form a module. There are 50 modules in the battery pack. The total voltage of the battery pack is 330 volts.

Honda Insight Battery

The Honda Insight’s battery pack, made up of 120 Panasonic 1.2-volt nickel metal hydride D cells is capable of 100A discharge, and 50A charge rates. The system limits the usable capacity to 4ah to extend battery life. Total battery pack output is 144 volts. The batteries are located under the cargo compartment floor, along with the Honda Integrated Motor Assist’s power control unit. Honda used technology developed for its EV Plus electric car for the original development of the Insight’s battery system.

Saturn Vue Hybrid Battery

The Saturn Vue Green Line’s 36-volt nickel metal hydride battery, designed and made in America by Cobasys, is capable of delivering and receiving more than 14.5 kW of peak power. The hybrid system is used to provide both 12-volt accessory power and power to charge the battery pack. The pack fits under the cargo area, leaving cargo room unchanged from the standard Vue—but drivers lose the benefit of a spare tire.

Lithium Ion Battery – For Next Generation Hybrids and Electric Cars

Lithium ion (or Li-ion) batteries are important because they have a higher energy density—the amount of energy they hold by weight, or by volume—than any other type. The rule of thumb is that Li-ion cells hold roughly twice as much energy per pound as do the previous generation of advanced batteries, nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH)—which are used in all current hybrids including the Toyota Prius. NiMH, in turn, holds about twice the energy per pound of the conventional lead-acid (PbA) 12-Volt battery that powers your car’s starter motor. It’s Li-ion’s ability to carry so much energy that makes electric cars possible.

Compare the batteries from GM’s legendary EV1 to those for its upcoming Volt extended-range EV. The 1997 EV1 pack used lead-acid cells; it was almost 8 feet long and weighed 1200 pounds. But today’s Volt pack, using lithium-ion cells, stores the same amount of energy (16 kilowatt-hours) in a 5-foot-long container weighing just 400 pounds.

There’s Not One Lithium Ion Battery

Crucially, there is no one lithium-ion battery, although this mistake is often seen in the press. Several different chemical formulations for the electrodes compete; each has its pros and cons. “No chemistry will be the perfect one,” says Klaus Brandt, the chief executive of Gaia, a German cell maker. The anode (or negative electrode) is typically made of graphite, but the cathode (positive electrode) chemistry varies widely. As much as any other factor, what the cathode is made from determines the cell’s capacity. The critical feature is the rate at which the cathode can absorb and emit free lithium ions. Each of several competing cathode materials offers a different mix of cost, durability, performance, and safety. Let’s take a look at the most important cathode contenders.

Cobalt Dioxide

Cobalt Dioxide is the most popular choice today for small cells (those in your mobile phone or laptop). It’s been on the market for 15 years, so it’s proven and its costs are known, though like nickel, cobalt is pricey. Cobalt is more reactive than nickel or manganese, meaning it offers high electrical potential when paired with graphite anodes, giving higher voltage. It has the highest energy density—but when fully charged, it is the most prone to oxidation (fire) caused by internal shorts. This can lead to thermal runaway, where one cell causes its neighbors to combust, igniting the whole pack almost instantly (think YouTube videos of burning laptops). Also, the internal impedance of a cobalt cell—the extent to which it “pushes back” against an alternating current—increases not just with use but with time as well. That means an unused five-year-old cobalt cell holds less energy than a brand-new one.

Cobalt dioxide cells are manufactured by dozens of Japanese, South Korean, and Chinese companies, but only Tesla Motors uses them—6,831 of them to be specific—in an electric car. Their pack uses sensors, cell isolation, and liquid cooling to ensure that any energy released if a cell shorts out can’t ignite any of its neighbors.

Nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM)

Nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) is somewhat easier to make. Manganese is cheaper than cobalt, but it dissolves slightly in electrolytes—which gives it a shorter life. Substituting nickel and manganese for some of the cobalt lets manufacturers tune the cell either for higher power (voltage) or for greater energy density, though not both at the same time. NCM remains susceptible to thermal runaway, though less so than cobalt dioxide. Its long-term durability is still unclear, and nickel and manganese are both still expensive now. Manufacturers include Hitachi, Panasonic, and Sanyo.

Nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA)

Nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) is similar to NCM, with lower-cost aluminum replacing the manganese. Companies that make NCA cells include Toyota and Johnson Controls–Saft, a joint venture between a Milwaukee automotive supplier and a French battery firm.

Manganese oxide spinel (MnO)

Manganese oxide spinel (MnO) offers higher power at a lower cost than cobalt, because its three-dimensional crystalline structure provides more surface area, permitting better ion flow between electrodes. But the drawback is a much lower energy density. GS Yuasa, LG Chem, NEC-Lamilion Energy, and Samsung offer cells with such cathodes; LG Chem is one of two companies competing to have its cells used in the Chevrolet Volt.

Iron phosphate (FePo)

Iron phosphate (FePo) might be the most promising new cathode, thanks to its stability and safety. The compound is inexpensive, and because the bonds between the iron, phosphate, and oxygen atoms are far stronger than those between cobalt and oxygen atoms, the oxygen is much harder to detach when overcharged. So if it fails, it can do so without overheating. Unfortunately, iron phosphate cells work at a lower voltage than cobalt, so more of them must be chained together to provide enough power to turn a motor. A123 Systems—which is competing for the Volt contract as well—uses nanostructures in their FePo cathodes, which it says produces better power and longer life. Other manufacturers include Gaia and Valence Technology.

The most fuel-efficient luxury car. The least expensive Lexus. For nearly a decade, the Toyota Prius has dominated

Hugh

What about the nanotitanate batteries by Altair Nanotechnologies? The seems to have a better technology even than the Iron Phosphate. They also have batteries in vehicles made by Phoenix Motorcar and test vehicles for buses, and delivery trucks. Why is this technology not mentioned? Is there cost prohibitive?

mdensch

In another publication I read that there is an important difference between Li ion and NiMh batteries in the way they charge and discharge. According to the article, NiMh batteries are better suited to current hybrids because they work well in applications where they are partially discharged and then partially recharged repeatedly. Li ion batteries “prefer” to be fully discharged and then fully charged slowly, on house current, say.

Again according to the article, plug-in hybrids will work best with both kinds of batteries on board with the NiMh batteries supplying short range needs and the Li ion batteries meeting the longer range needs.

Anyone else run across this information?

PatrickPunch

Dear mdensch,

This is the first time I read that Li ion prefer fully discharging and charging as you mention. For our hybrid developmennt we have thouroughly compared different chemistries. During that study we even found a graph that shows that the shallower your charge/discharge cycles are the longer your Li ion battery will last.

I would even like to add that all new hybrid launches using NiMH are “old” technology. NiMH does not provide the same efficiency, deep cycling capacity and power or energy density as Li ion.

Hugh

Patrick,

Have you looked at Altair Nano’s battery? I am curious as to why more car companies are not looking to this battery.

Hugh

Picky McPicky

What about Texlons E.D.L.A.D. battery that absorbs energy from all living matter, electrical impulses and wireless signals and converts it into ambient energy. This is breakthough technology! It is thought to be 20X more powerful than anything on the market today.

RKRB

Thanks for the timely and informative article. This has helped us understand our hybrid, to compare it with other systems, and to make more sense of anticipated developments.

One suggestion: although the reference to past articles was useful, it would have been nice to provide some links to other legitimate sources that you have screened and used.

Robert Leyva

Thank you for an article that helps me understand the differing battery configurations and types available for mainstream hybrid vehicles.

Jerry

Please provide a link to the Texlon battery noted in your comments on hybrid battery technology.

Regards,

Jerry

stanley

Do we have to use the elec to take place of heat energy? I think we should find a way which is more powerful and more efficient such as nuclear energy.

Motus

To the comment of Altair-Nano. This would be a great resource but to date they are only looking at mega watt capacity sales because the company is so large they cannot sustain small sales. Too bad too, if they would license their technology to small companies like Battery Space they would see a distribution channel that would enable small sales to try their products out. To date it almost seems like vaporware that looks great on paper, but the product has no feasibility. I do not know if that is the case, but as a CFO of a corporation, I fully recognize the danger signals of any company burning through stock investment and having little sales to justify their balance sheets. It is also telling how diversified Altair-Nano has become in product width; which is another danger signal, they are having a tough time recognizing what kind of company they are.

Altair-Nano is sitting on their patents and not becoming anything other than another poor quality corporation with no sense they ever need to have their sales feet at the fire by merchandising their product(s) in as many distribution channels as possible. This is a sad tale of many misdirected CEO’s and boards. Lot of smart people on Altair-Nano’s board, but unfortunately not a single one of them with any business sense.

Altair-Nano’s challenge: We all call on you to find a retail distribution channel for your cells with solder tabs so that we innovators might become one of your megawatt manufacturers.

rajchowdary

it,s nice introduction of batteries which are using in hybrid vehicles.

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Yes nuclear energy is a way forward but then I also believe that renewable energy should be our core focus

Andre Smith

This is the crowing instance I clarify that Li ion raise truly discharging besides charging because you present. over our hybrid developmennt we reckon on thouroughly
compared different chemistries. During that provide for we regular create a graph that shows that the shallower your charge/discharge cycles are the longer your Li ion bombardment entrust last.

I would akin rejoice in to teem with that complete new hybrid launches using NiMH are “old” technology. NiMH does not protect the uniform efficiency, subterranean cycling potentiality further power or vivacity density considering Li ion.

Mathew

Second, there is as well as a premium for a diesel engine over a regular gas engine, and biodiesel has scalability problems . It is also not as tidy emission-wise as the AT-PZEV hybrids.First, future batteries won’t be made of nickel. There might be other problems there, but one times supply of something becomes tight we are usually nice at reusing, recycling and substituting it. I am sure there’s plenty of giant industrial processes that use immensely more nick/lithium/ion polymer/whatever in Car Rental JFK than batteries and nobody’s complaining about them now..Not perfect yet, as well as a plug-in with cellulosic ethanol or diesel/biodiesel capabilities would be better (while waiting for 100% EVs), but they ought to be careful about downplaying the benefits of nice hybrids (not muscle cars). Appears to be a trend lately to try to claim that tech X is so much better than the Prius…

Also, you don’t save “a few gallons” of gasoline with a hybrid like a Prius. You save plenty of times the weight of the automobile in gas over the lifetime of the automobile.

Lets also recall that the current Prius is a 2004 automobile. Next gen will of work be better…

Jayce Nugent

To the comment of Altair-Nano. This would be a great resource but to date they are only looking at mega watt capacity sales because the company is so large they cannot sustain small sales. Too bad too, if they would license their technology to small companies like Battery Space they would see a distribution channel that would enable small sales to try their products out. To date it almost seems like vaporware that looks great on paper, but the product has no feasibility. I do not know if that is the case, but as a CFO of a corporation, I fully recognize the danger signals of any company burning through stock investment and having little sales to justify their balance sheets. It is also telling how diversified Altair-Nano has become in product width; which is another danger signal, they are having a tough time recognizing what kind of company they are.

Altair-Nano is sitting on their patents and not becoming anything other than another poor quality corporation reviews with no sense they ever need to have their sales feet at the fire by merchandising their product(s) in as many distribution channels as possible. This is a sad tale of many misdirected CEO’s and boards. Lot of smart people on Altair-Nano’s board, but unfortunately not a single one of them with any business sense.

Altair-Nano’s challenge: We all call on you to find a retail distribution channel for your cells with solder tabs so that we innovators might become one of your megawatt manufacturers.

Razib

Car Battery manufacturing plant details :

I am looking for recondition/ second hand car battery plant for porches or joined venture

Note : 1) Battery Casing will be imported not manufacture
2) Re-cycle plant will be set up after one year.

maria perez

The battery hiw long you change that 2 3 5 years????

Specq Philippe

Is it for starter batteries and only Porsche models?

zeke

I have a dead batteries on my 2000 Honda insight… Does anyone know where I can buy new NmH batteries already on a 6 pack in line similar to the photo you show here? Much appreciate your guidence.

Zeke
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Alya@cordless electric tea kettle

Anytime it arrives to rechargeable car or truck batteries, the predicament is completely diverse. Despite the fact that the battery product is comparable to conventional car batteries in purpose, they use really modern technologies in development and charging. As an example, the battery has its electrolyte within a gel form although not in liquid sort as most common batteries have. Due to the gel sort, it can be probable to fix these batteries in any orientation. This let electrical car or truck makers to fit the car batteries in any orientation they want, as a result accommodate far more cells in a constrained room. Far more batteries in a minimal space allows far better engine output and mileage on the single charge.

And cordless electric tea kettle serves the sole function of boiling waters. Nearly all of them could boil approximately a person and 3 quarter-liters of h2o quite quickly. Either these electrical devices have cords or they don’t. The cordless electrical tea kettle is quite beneficial, compared to your older corded versions. Let us review the handful of benefits to an electric cordless fashion.

hamda

haw can i chage my toyota hybid battery

Japanese used cars

The production of Lithium-Ion batteries is growing rapidly. Most of today’s hybrid cars use Lithium-Ion batteries as one of their power supply. Toyota was the very first company to use this type of battery in its vehicle. Toyota Vitz, a small compact car which is only available in Japan, uses Lithium-Ion battery packs to power the air conditioner, lights in the gauges, head lights, and the heater while the car is in idle, allowing the car to save gasoline.Japanese used cars|toyota used cars

Jerry Miller

The image of 50 or so new cars (hybrids?) jammed together and burned out after the recent tsunami in japan makes me wonder if immersion in salt water causes battery related fires. Any thoughts? I know that I can generate a lot of heat by applying 240 VDC to a drum containing salt water.

henry agim

i like everything i have read, but hw can charge the battery for toyota highlander?

Robertpeterson27

Future of hybrid cars is too bright just because of its eco-friendly nature. I found that next generation cars will fulfill our needs by less consumption of energy. The day is not far when we would purchased Japanese Used Cars that powered by batteries and electrical plugs.

Robertpeterson27

Hybrid cars are one of the best source for eco-friendly nature. I found that next generation cars will fulfill our needs by less consumption of energy. The day is not far when we would purchased Japanese Used Cars that powered by batteries and electrical plugs.

Deanna

I was planning to buy a Prius, but a friend who had an Escape hybrid in FL said that the A/C required the gas to work. So it would seem to cancel out the benefits of the hybrid gas savings. So basically if you live in a hot climate and like to run the A/C a hybrid probably would not make sense for you. Does anyone have any info. about this? At this point, based on that info. I’ve switched my selection to a VW Golf possibly a TDI.

Signs Dublin

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I really feel strongly about it and love studying extra on this topic. If potential, as you gain experience, would you mind updating your weblog with extra information? It is extremely useful for me.

Mahmoud Rababa’h

hello
Dear Hamada I just want to ask you the same question if you have received any beneficial information because the hybrid battery of my car is not doing well and the turtle sign appears on my car screen three times. if you have any information i will be grateful for your help.
jordan- irbid

Bolton

Couldn’t it be possible to have the car surrounded with a venturi skin , the air rushing through when it is at speed, driving a huge fan blade at the rear, clutch operated, which in turn would drive a charging system to the batteries. extending the range of the vehicle.. Sorry just a stupid idea.
Ben

Jessy Thies

Amazing explanation, a very interesting read. I ought to ask if hybrid car batteries on cars could somehow be an alternative way of resisting air pollution too? At least there are many cars who have car batteries such as these types. More research for these car batteries might also help us lessen its malfunction.Immersion Heaters Leeds|Immersion Heater Repair Leeds

Chazman

You can buy a complete Prius traction battery from smashed cars on eBay for around $300 plus shipping. Or check local Toyota dealers — the $300 price is because that’s what the dealer will pay to get an old battery and recycle it. Call junkyards, too.

Get some high-voltage gloves. Buy a $15 Haynes manual (check auto supply stores) for the Prius. Or pay the dealer to swap it if you’re squeamish or not handy with tools.

Better yet, investigate having just the bad cell swapped out. Any competent Toyota dealer or auto electric shop should be able to do this. There are 168 individual cells in a battery pack, and if one fails, it must be replaced. So far, there are reports that about 30 packs have required replacement out of over 1 million Prius’s sold in the U.S. Why do you want to change the battery?

I foresee used traction batteries as a storage source for alternative energy projects. Junkyard 200- to 300-volt DC batteries could be re-purposed with inverters for 120-volt AC home power. They all consist of a long string of 1.3-volt cells.

The whole idea could replace lead-acid batteries for energy storage from solar cells and windmills.

cable management

I would like to say that this is really impressive site.This site is really good and interesting.Thank you very much for this kindness.cable management

Hello
I am a teacher of motor vehicle technology and I am preparing some lessons on mathematics for level 2 trainees. I have been looking at your website and I have seen some material that I could use to make some work related examples and exercises.
Please can you give me permission to use some pictures and info such as;
Voltages
battery power
recharging rate etc.
I envisage making 15 to 20 siple problems.

Any material used would be properly acknowledged

Regards
Allan Bonnick

toretele

in this article the author work is very remarkable and i really appriciate of this work.

Great article, i just read one and you make simple conclusion and powerful to learn.cable management

William Madden

Good article. but one cannot repeal the English language.

A “battery”, as a source of electrical energy, is ALWAYS a collection of individual electrochemical cells. It comes from the idea of an artillery battery: a collection of individual guns firing in concert. Unlike artillery batteries, familiar electrochemical battery can have the cells in series, boosting the voltage. A typical 9V battery–the kind with the snaps–is simply a series of six 1.5V cells of the same underlying chemistry as non-battery AA, AAA, C and D cells. As the author notes, some Li-ion “batteries” are really just individual 3V cells. Anything with a voltage in some multiple of 3V is ture battery.When the cells are placed in parallel, the battery has a longer “life” than that of the individual cells, rather than a higher voltage.

Complex batteries, such as those used in laptop computers, usually have cells both in series and in parallel. This allows the battery to be tapped at several different points, providing a variety of different voltages for optimal performance use by the components of the device while still having large capacity for the big drainers, like disk drives, screens and wireless transmitters.

Battery “packs” are often secondary assemblies of batteries, possibly even produced by a different manufacturer. A battery pack of this kind is still a battery. It is just that its innards are made up of individual batteries which are themselves made up of individual cells. It’s mostly about the packaging. In fact, most computer batteries are battery “packs” in this sense.

These quibbles aside, this article is very informative, and I appreciate the author’s efforts in addressing the topic.

guducrid

Cable management includes clamping, labeling and routing. There are various products to bundle cables together:

This process can be engaged in a group, but you don’t want to influence anyone or be swayed by someone as you create your initial free-form dream list of goals.máquina de llenado de aceite

Danielle Moss

This was a great explanation of the battery of a hybrid. I really have enjoyed this and I cant wait to learn more. I have learned so much already. Converse Allstars

Beauty Boxes

Learnt a lot about hybrid batteries, seriously helpful! Love this site

Car Servicing

A hybrid car battery is like any other battery. The only difference is that these batteries have higher capacity and the can store enough power to move a vehicle down the road for a couple miles. The energy storage system is the most significant part of a hybrid car.Car Servicing|Camper Van Hire

JohnCanali

Many times we read about the hybrid car and the car batteries but this articles helps a lot to understand that how in actual those are working. The related pictures given helps to have the actual idea of all the information stated above.Latest Updates on cars

Each of several competing cathode materials offers a different mix of cost, durability, performance, and safety. Let’s take a look at the most important cathode contenders. cell phone spy software

lames hofsman

The battery-monitoring unit manages discharge and recharging by the generator and motors to keep the charge level constant while the car is running. cell phone spyware

rogerpaul

It is just that its innards are made up of individual batteries which are themselves made up of individual cells. It’s mostly about the packaging. In fact, most computer batteries are battery “packs” in this sense drm removal mac
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